Chicken and Rice Casserole

This is another dish I never ate growing up.  My father did not eat it, so my mother did not cook it.  This casserole is one of my husband's favorites.  I do not cook it often as it takes a lot of time.  I usually only make it when I have left over rice and chicken already cooked.  

 
Chicken and Rice Casserole
Ingredients
2 chicken breast cooked and chopped   
2 cups cooked rice
1 can cream of mushroom soup       
½ small onion chopped fine      
½ Tablespoon butter
Crushed potato chips

Directions

1. Saute the onion in a small amount of butter.
2. Mix chicken, rice, soup and onion and pour in a greased casserole dish.  
3. Put chips on top.  
4. Bake at 350 for 30 minutes.

Notes
For added flavor to the dish, cook the rice in the chicken broth made by cooking the chicken breast.

One recipe will feed 6 people easily. 

You can make this ahead of time and refrigerate.  Allow for 45 minutes to an hour cook time if you do so.

The chips will get soggy if left covered after cooked.  To make them crispy again, stick back in a heated oven for a few minutes.

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How much does it cost?

2 chicken breast cooked and chopped = $1.00
2 cups cooked rice = $1.00
1 can cream of mushroom soup = $1.00       
½ small onion chopped fine = $.30
½ Tablespoon butter = $.03
Crushed potato chips = $1.00

One recipe costs $4.33.  This makes this meal cost less than $1 per person!

Baked Spaghetti

This is a simple twist on classic spaghetti.  I do not do anything fancy at all. 

Baked Spaghetti
Ingredients
1 12-16oz package spaghetti noodles
1/2 recipe of tomato sauce
2 cups mozzarella cheese

Directions

1. Boil noodles until just done.
2. In a 9x13 pan, put a thin layer of sauce.
3. Place half of the noodles on top of the sauce.
4. Cover noodles with half of the sauce.
5. Sprinkle 1/2 of the cheese on top of the sauce.
6. Repeat 3-5 with the rest of the ingredients.
7. Bake on 350 until the cheese is just starting to brown and is bubbly.

Notes
Let sit for 5 minutes before serving, that way it doesn't fall apart when you scoop it out.

1/2 recipe of tomato sauce is close to one jar of sauce.  To get my recipe for tomato sauce, click HERE.

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How much does this cost?

1 16oz package spaghetti noodles = $1.25
1/2 recipe tomato sauce = $1.03
2 cups mozzarella cheese = $2.00

If you added meat to your sauce, like I did for this recipe, then you will need to add the price of the meat.  I used ground beef, which is approx $4.00 a pound, so the cost of the meat in 1/2 recipe would be $2.

This meal costs me $6.28.